By DANIEL J. CHACÓN
dchacon@sfnewmexican.com
The Senate Rules Committee endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment Friday that would pave the way for paying New Mexico’s 112 legislators a base salary.
But money — or lack of it — could lead to its demise.
Committee Chairwoman Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, warned the measure is doomed to fail if placed on next year’s ballot unless it’s backed by a well-funded campaign.
House Joint Resolution 8, which the committee passed on a 5-4 party-line vote, would ask voters to amend the state Constitution to allow for legislative salaries, as well as to create a nine-member citizen commission to set the salaries.
The push to end New Mexico’s status as the only state in the nation whose legislators do not receive a base salary is part of a larger effort to modernize the Legislature. Lawmakers also are considering a separate constitutional amendment calling for 60-day sessions every year. Under current law, sessions run 30 days in even-numbered years and 60 days in odd-numbered years.
Duhigg said she is “100% in favor” of paying lawmakers a salary but worried voters would reject it. She said she considered an amendment to put the question on the 2026 ballot and “flirted” with the idea of pushing it even further to 2028 to give supporters enough time to develop an effective campaign.
“I have said to anyone who will listen, ‘Someone please show me your funding and your plan for a voter education program for this,’ and I have not seen a thing,” she said. “It is so easy to say, ‘This is greedy politicians who want your money.’ It is just so easy to kill [the proposal] that if we don’t have a well-funded, well-organized and very significant voter education campaign, this goes down in flames easy peasy.”
Rep. Joy Garratt, D-Albuquerque, the lead sponsor of HJR 8, said supporters such as Common Cause New Mexico and the League of Women Voters have “indicated” they plan to run various advocacy and educational campaigns if the question appears on the ballot.
Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, said the opposition is already mobilizing.
“I noticed [political blogger] Joe Monahan waxing at great length the other morning about how dare we pay ourselves when we get such a lavish retirement benefit and when we have a very hearty per diem,” he said. “I think those are some of the issues that are going to be brought up when this is brought before the public.”
Duhigg warned lawmakers are taking a “huge risk” by placing the question on next year’s ballot.
“I think it is likely to fail by doing that,” she said. “That is a real shame because I think this is something that we need and we should have.”
Supporters of paying lawmakers a salary say it will lead to a more professional Legislature, attract more candidates and compensate lawmakers for the work they do throughout the year.
“I think the public perception is that when we’re away from Santa Fe after the 30- or 60-day session that our job stops,” said Sen. Leo Jaramillo, D-Española. “They don’t understand the amount of calls that we take, people who reach out to us, people who need us to represent them as senators and representatives.”
Jaramillo said a base salary would allow a broader cross section of New Mexicans to serve in the Legislature.
“HJR 8 would intend to increase the access to open legislative service to people who are much more rooted in community and are left out of running for office and representing their communities because they can’t afford to work without a salary,” he said.
Under the proposal, lawmakers would continue to receive a per diem, a point of contention for some Republicans.
Garratt said research showed lawmakers are receiving an average of $15,000 a year in per diem. However, Sen. Mark Moores, R-Albuquerque, said a story by The Associated Press showed some senators were pulling in more than $27,000 a year in per diem in 2014.
“I know it’s just speculation, but we’re going to be talking about a total compensation package of [$70,000 to] $80,000 a year,” he said.
Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.
